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House Lyra
House Lyra House Lyra is one of the seven Minor Houses of The Empire. From their homeworld of Orpheus on the edge of the Imperial Core they have spread throughout the sector. It is a rare noble house that does not have a Lyran trained political adviser in their retinue, and rarer still to find a city without Lyran theaters, galleries, symposiums, mausoleums, and brothels. From the beginning the Lyrans have developed a strong culture of aesthetic development, philosophical debate, and reverence for death and the dead. Operating with surprising efficiency despite their seemingly disorganized hierarchy, they show a great deal of unity for a largely dispersed people. More on Lyran Society Culture and Aesthetics The idea of the right aesthetics lies in the heart of all Lyran life. From creative and artistic ventures to life and death itself. Description of the right aesthetics is complicated but yet poignant. It is somber but still hopeful for what awaits us all in the After; Dark yet colorful; Gothic yet romantic. Fashion Fashion is a key expression which house Lyra use to spread its idea of the perfect aesthetics.Both for its own members and the wider sector. Ash makeup House Lyra use kohl makeup made from human ashes created in the embalming and burning process. The rules and traditions regulating how and where this make up can be used goes far back. Breaking these is a great faux pas and will bring you great shame to you and your family The rules and traditions surrounding this are complex and have all kinds of exceptions but generally it goes that if you wear a mask, you cannot wear sleeves, symbolizing that while you hide your emotions, you show how there is nothing up your sleeves. If your sleeves are covered, then your face must be exposed, symbolizing that you are showing your emotion, but that will not tell what's up your sleeves. If you wear a mask, your arms use the Kohl makeup, and conversely, if your arms are covered, your face has Kohl makeup. The origin of this macabre tradition came into being from Lyrans desiring to never to forget och abandon their loved one. Style There are many styles of House Lyra and they are under constant change. One of the popular styles of clothing is Glam Goth(David Bowie in black). Glam Goth came from a subset of Lyrans’ desire to celebrate life more fully to grant death even greater meaning. This subculture took the Lyrans’ already rather flamboyant styles and took them to a further extreme. Another popular style among the more somber parts of house Lyra is to wear high collar black robes with white accents. Lyrans consider this form of dress to emphasize the serenity and peace of death through its minimalist beauty. On Orpheus breathing masks are required because of freak weather. These masks have evolved to being incorporated in fashion, and are often decorated to be aesthetically pleasing. Cultural expressions Art Troupes Some members of house Lyra join together in art and theater troupes. These travel throughout The Empire serving as entertainers for high ranking noble officials in the other houses. Mirroring the Renaissance style of actors being hired by nobles to be in their court. The art troupes also serve as the eyes and ears of house Lyra and frequently act as information gathering agents or spies, gathering intrigue and social knowledge in order to manipulate the Noble houses from the inside out. Nadaism Nadaism is an art movement encompassing art works, literature, theater and film questioning the meaninglessness of existence in a chaotic uncaring universe. It began as a esoteric art collective in post blood eagle Djebashi in 2960 and quickly grew among the disillusioned Merets living there as they saw the large amount of refugees around them. By making nonsensical art they challenged the current political norms as well as the hyper structural art conventions of the times. The movement began to splinter as soon as it started but influenced the development of non-euclideanism, post-existentialism, imagnialism and cosmicism . The last Nada group and the most known Nada artist was Meret Lyra Karawane Hugo who wrote the poem “ph’ngui R’lyeh” on a portrait of the first emperor. Shortly after he traveled with his fellow followers to the “land between the stars” and was never seen again. Wedding Traditions The weddings of House Lyra are events that afford much celebration and joy amongst the House. Members of House Lyra take the bonding of souls very seriously, it is a commitment made in the Here and the After. The joining of souls is eternal, so that they may find each other in the After. They create a bond so deep that they cannot lose each other, even when separated in the Here. Making and Exchanging of the Mask A Lyran must first give themselves completely to their partner, with that comes their mask. A mask is not only an extension of the themselves but a symbol of complete and utter trust. This mask represents the trust that is given to a partner. With this gift, they give their partner a promise that they will share all their feelings with the other. They will exchange masks giving that vulnerability over to the person symbolizing their bond Here and Now. Part of the ceremony is the Making of the Mask, if a partner does not hail from House Lyra they must create a mask. This is a deeply personal and intimate creation, for it informs this person of their very being. This mask is made to give to their other half, their partner forever After, After the creation of the mask, both are exchanged symbolizing the utmost trust acceptance of the other’s self. Tying the Knot Another important aspect of Lyran marriage is Tying the Knot. During the ceremony the couple’s hands and arms are ceremonially knotted together to represent their bond that will connect them to each other in order for them to find each in the After. This represents the sleeves that certain Lyrans chose to wear, with the joining of their sleeves, their unity is demonstrated, that all plans and thoughts are now to be shared. This cord is generally silver in nature and made of a cloth like material, it is sturdy material designed to never break, these souls must never separate, not even in the After. Living Memory The ceremony is performed in the company of church official along with the friends and families of the participants. While the ceremonies are quite quiet and intimate by Lyran circumstances, the parties that follow are raucous loud occasions.Not only are they extremely successful parties but they are dedicated to telling the story of the couple. To commit their union to a living memory, to strengthen their connections to each other and the After. When a Lyran loses their significant other, the gifted mask is entombed with their partner. They create a new one to demonstrate that they have been changed by this loss. The silver cord is also entombed with the dead to signify the Journey to the After. A wedding in House Lyra is impactful and important, it signifies that an individual's journey to the After now includes another. Psionic Arts House Lyra has developed several unique telepathic arts. During The Silence they could not treat MES but could partially train psychics. This lead to a system of special breeding of telepaths and very strict controls on their use. Even so during that dark time they developed new abilties unique to the House. Memory Painting Some Lyran telepaths possess the ability to paint memories of people. These paintings can be commissioned at any point in life. In particular, we paint memories people have when they are near death, or dying. It’s all based around the beauty of our last memories before we face the unknown of death. Psychomentric Imprinting Another technique Lyrans have developed is psionically imprinting objects with energy so that when touched, they evoke a certain feeling, or emotion. This can be used as an art form, such as statues we allow people to touch, or for more subtle uses, like setting up a pen to invoke a specific emotion to sway someone when they are in the middle of writing something. Pre-Birth Psionic Inception Before the birth of houses members, some Lyrans use a psionic technique to implant subliminal messaging and begin education. The specific information and ideas vary to some degree. This technique is used to keep the House's secrets safe. The inception encourages loyalty, and discretion, but is not outright mind control. House Structure and Government House Lyra are organised in five orders all responsible for different aspect of Lyran culture and tradition. All orders are generally seen as equals and operate in a relatively flat hierarchy. This is because Lyrans pride themselves on having found the perfect gene breeding techniques for making the perfect noble. Some family names are regarded as more prestigious than other but that is mostly for contact with non Lyran nobles. Rarely people of non-noble blood are brought in but then only as concubines, mainly to incorporate blood lines of great psychic power. However only their children may be regarded as nobles. Such children may never even know of their “true” biological parent. The extent of this practice is unknown to both the other houses and most of the house Lyra members them self. The Orders of Lyra Merets A population of artists and philosophers of course value the trait of creativity highly. The Meret are a group that have managed to build themselves into a position of influence through reputation as the most skilled in their art form. From mastery of ecstasy to beautifully laid out musical composition, many seek the genius touch of a Meret. Neshmet The Neshmets of House Lyra are the morticians and the Keepers of the After. Learning their craft in the sacred catacombs of the Academy of Ma’at, Neshmets are the more subdued members of House Lyra, and are often more comfortable embalming bodies and removing brains rather than interacting with other people. Neshmets care deeply for the dead and they will do anything to ensure the journey of soul to the After. Neshmets are often the most heavily ash-tattooed Lyrans. Horuset The Horuset are enactors of treaty and pioneers of inter-house problem solving. Trained with efficient reasoning skills and to present an objective outlook in debate, they typically serve as the official primary diplomats and mouth pieces for House Lyra. At times the Horuset can represent other houses as intermediaries when a situation requires tact. In such cases, is not uncommon to find two Lyran Horuset speaking with each other while acting on the behalf of two other, external, disagreeing parties. Tehuti Culture is an integral aspect of life and Tehuti work tirelessly to track trends and predict changes is the sociopolitical structure of Acheron Rho. They set up at the tipping point of a craze and push it in their favour using their connections and intuitive understanding of phenomena. Their work behind the scenes was pivotal for the popularity of our collective artistic and philosophical visage - that in tandem with raw talent, of course. The Tehuit are als o the ones tasked to curate, catalog, preserve all the works of art, culture and philosophy created by house Lyra so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come. Hekate Hekate are the raw talent made manifest on the stage in a way that only a Hekate can. Trained from conception to be the perfect idols and superstars. Never seen without their managers, a few chosen Merets, to ensure absolute perfection. Xeper It is typical for those that are not specialized to be titled ‘Xeper’. These are the agents recognised as highly capable despite lacking a specific modus operandi - because of this, typically their skillsets are comparable to a ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of none’. It is not looked down upon to maintain this avoidance of specification even after advancing in skill. The Shadow Council Governing structure of house Lyra are a mystery to most of its even its own members. There are rumors that they are ruled by a Shadow Council. The Shadow Council has no name. It is sometimes whispered of as “The Ptah”, “The Distillate”, or “The Collective Will”. But truly no one knows what it is. Throughout the life of a noble member of House Lyra they will, maybe never, maybe often, receive orders from the Shadow Council. The agents of this mysterious ruling body of House Lyra will sometimes appear with orders, sometimes the council will approach nobles directly in their dreams or thoughts. Those who refuse to carry out their duties suffer the “Curse of Apep” a combination of extreme permanent writer’s block and an inability to focus. The length and severity of the curse depends on how much they disobeyed the will of the council. It is the secret presence of the council as the guiding hand within House Lyra that keeps them efficient and united. As House Lyra guides The Empire, so are they guided quietly from within. Leaving House Lyra The process of leaving any House in The Empire for any reason is always a serious matter. Deciding to depart from House Lyra is an especially dangerous action. Family in Lyra is no mere matter of blood. All are connected and belong to the After in the end. The secrets of House Lyra must better reach the ears of other houses and silencing those memories is all too important. That said, there are two methods of departure depending on where one goes, be it to another house or into the dreaded world of non-nobility. Marriage into another house is a regrettable decision, but remains an expression of one’s self. The noble in question must give up their mask, leaving it behind. Their home is lost and they must walk the path out of the city on their own. It is often a sad event, but malice is generally looked down upon. Should they wish to return and amend their “error”, the mask and love from other Lyrans will always be waiting. Throwing away one’s nobility is a heinous action and the process for removing them is purposefully harsh. Publicly, a person choosing to leave House Lyra must shatter their mask, donning a generic breathing mask simply necessary for survival. Their assets are claimed for general use by House Lyra. And finally, one must leave their home city dressed in drab rags. It must send a message to those who dare to leave that this action is unacceptable. Behind the scenes, no matter where they may be going, those who leave are made to forget the secrets of House Lyra. Memories are ripped away, thoughts made hazy. All is done to protect Lyra. Language Court Lyric Court Lyric is as close as you can come to an official language of house Lyra. As a language of education, status and ritual, Court Lyric is a form of reconstructed ancient Egyptian made to sound archaic, strange and magical. It uses a writing system of stylised and simplified hieroglyphs for symbolicly and ritualty important words combined with Sino-Japanese signs and some aspects taken from of the Coptic and Amharic alphabets. Court Lyric flourished during the reign of the VII Emperox, The Masked One, when court Lyric was the second most used language in the Imperial Court. In the years following The Masked One’s return to the After its influence has been greatly reduced as a spoken language outside of Orpheus. However, as a literary language it is still thriving and almost every noble home has poetry, plays or novels written in it. Common Lyric Common lyric is a collection of languages, dialects and creoles consisting of mainly semitic languages with a large amount of japanese, greek and Sino-English loan words and grammar. It can be heard being spoken by the lower classes on Orpheus and everywhere in the sector where a large diasporas of Orpehans can be found. It is written, which it usually isn’t, with a wide variety of alphabetical and sign system. M’jii M’jii(Pronounced Em-Jee) is a code language inspired by hieroglyphics. Emojis are coded with information that decode out into Lyric. Extremely hard to pick up if you are not taught it. The language is solely for secret, internal communications and between lovers. Historic Records House Lyra originated as being in charge of the art and philosophy of The Empire. Over time, our exploration of these two led to a great many changes. Many of the original members of House Lyra came from lineages from the Northern coast of Africa and the Aegean Isles. As artists and philosophers we drew from many cultures but these remained strong touch stones as well as minimalism inspired by modernist movements around the world. As we traveled to the Acheron Rho sector we lost touch with many practices and religions. Eventually, a responsibility was placed upon our house that would change House Lyra forever. Birth of the Death Cult During the long sojourn in the night House Lyra’s duties grew greater and greater. They became mediators, between their living peers and between life and death. This was never intended by the planners of the migration. When the first deaths during the Silence occurred, there was no consensus at first on how to treat those who had passed. The responsibility fell to a council of Lyrans whose names have sadly been forgotten to history. Without a religious framework as the scream had severed their contact with the church and the other human colonies they struggled to find a way to pay respect to the dead. One of them, a woman of north african background, had found ancient records in the ships logs that told of a kingdom long gone. The tales she found, told by her ancestors, of barges guiding the sun through the night, of undying kings and queens entering a beautiful land of peace struck a chord. The Lyrans today still believe what she came to believe. That all things exist in states of transition and change. Life to death, singer to diplomat, child to parent. Her own personal charisma and the significant number of Lyrans who felt a shared connection to these stories and images saw a secret cult develop among the Lyrans who handled the cremation and then preservation of the dead. They reconstructed many rituals and beliefs and over time after whole of Orpheus came embrace them Age of Mourning Following the bloody rule of the Aquilan Empress, known throughout The Empire as The Blood Eagle; The Empire once again risked falling into civil war. Without a clear successor, the Houses Major and Minor were struggling to agree, which house should elevate to the imperial throne. An unlikely candidate broke the impasse: House Lyra stepped up to the task. Usually satisfied to be a power behind the throne, they promised to enforce the peace accord of 2960 and lead The Empire through mourning, recovery, and reconciliation. The first major reform was the signing of “The Formal Agreement for Noble Grievance” which forbids violent conflicts between nobles outside of formally regulated duels. Duels performed either by the conflicting parties or by bravos from Reticulum to fight in their name. Over time, the practice of dueling for one’s own honour fell out of favour, and is now considered gauche, when one could hire a professional duelist raised from birth in House Reticulum. The Masked Emperox The Emperox’s true name was never revealed, and their face always went covered by an elaborate black mask to signify their role as an impartial mediator more than a despotic ruler. Everyone agrees they likely had powerful psionic abilities, as nobles and their envoys often needed not even speak their requests or complaints before a fitting compromise was laid forward. However, it is possible this had more to do with House Lyra’s sprawling diplomatic structure and expertise in the arts of covertcy. The Masked Emperox’s reign was a time of cultural renaissance and revival with fresh art and literature movements flourishing, spreading Court Lyric all over The Empire. Countless monuments dedicated to the lives lost and The Empire’s struggles during The Silence and the years of bloody conflict were also erected. The Orgone Pyramid The most prominent of these monuments is the Orgone Pyramid. A large mausoleum of grief and mourning built on the imperial capital planet, Imperial Prime. The pyramid looks like a black monolith from a distance but as you get closer the swirling combination of different rare ores and stones gives off an esoteric green purple sheen. This symbolizes that even in darkness, loss and sadness; hope, light and purpose can be found. The inside of the pyramid hosts the finest of Lyran art and culture outside of Orpheus, commemorating the sorrow and loss of The Silence and the following civil war. Leading up to it is a boulevard lined with matt black obelisks carved full of fine etching emitting a light purple glow. The etchings tell tales of suffering, hardship and death and the triumph of peace, mourning and prosperity in life as well as the After. When the Emperox’s rule ended, the building came to serve also as the embassy for house Lyra and the best place on Imperial prime to experience art and culture - be it somber poetry readings, grand operas or massive Hekate concerts. Notable Members of House Lyra Category:Factions Category:Houses Minor Category:Noble Houses Category:House Lyra